The big Flyers story yesterday—an off day following a big weekend win—was the muzzling of goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. The quote machine's media availability was limited to a scant amount, either by the man himself or his team. You may have noticed a lot of people getting pretty upset over it. And, as we learned in Puck Daddy's coverage of the news, Sam Carchidi filed a complaint with the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
According to Tim Panaccio, Kevin Allen of the PHWA had a conference call with the Flyers, during which he informed them that limiting the media's access to Bryzgalov violated the league's media policy as outlined in the collective bargaining agreement.
Bryz (and Sergei Bobrovsky) will now be available every day, but with a time limit. No more holding court for the loquacious starter, at least for now.
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In the long run, it appears yesterday was much ado about nothing. But, while the media gets its access to Bryzgalov back, it could be a while before all the ruffled feathers are smoothed over and the rift between the team and its media is bridged. The scribes made it very clear that they won't take access decisions lightly, and when it comes to these things, they can band together in a hurry, and do so rather effectively.
Wonder what the first topic of conversation will be when the gaggle surrounds Bryz for the first time…